I'll Be There
by nicolecriss
Summary: My take on what happens after Beckett is shot in the season finale. Based on the song "I'll Be There" by Faber Drive. Mostly Castle's POV, but also includes Kate's POV


_Hello everyone :3_

_This is the first story I worked on in a while, since I was busy with exams and stuff. It's basically my take on what happened after Beckett was shot in the season finale. The story alternates between Castle and Kate's POV, but it's mostly in Castle's POV_

_The song I used is I'll Be There by Faber Drive. Here's a link to the song: http:/www.(youtube).com/watch?v=SfU7R4myYmM_

_Just remove the brackets, because I heard that FF doesn't accept links in stories._

_Thanks to my amazing beta 3. I love you to death 3_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, any characters mentioned in this story, or the song I used. They wouldn't be as awesome if I owned them._

_Okay, enough ranting, here's the story_

* * *

><p>"Stay with me, Kate. I love you!" The three words finally slipped out of Rick Castle's mouth. These have been words that he had been waiting to say for the longest time; he was waiting for the right moment to say them. However, looking at what just happened at Beckett, he realized that there might not be a right moment to say them. <em>It's now or never,<em> he realized, as he looked into her eyes.

"I love you, Kate," he repeated, looking into her green eyes. She was delivering the eulogy at Captain Roy Montgomery's funeral, and had just looked at Castle with a small smile before she was shot. Castle noticed the presence of the sniper, but was not quick enough to save her. She had been shot before he was able to tackle her to the ground to protect her. He looked into her eyes, which were slowly closing.

"No, Kate, no," he tightened his hold on her as he whispered this. Tears started streaming down his cheeks. He saw a tear slip out of her eye, which he wiped away. "Stay with me, Kate, please," he continued. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Please don't leave me. I love you, Kate."

"Castle, you need to let go of her," Esposito said, as Ryan led a team of paramedics to where Beckett and Castle were. "We need to take her to the hospital now."

_**Da da da da da da da, da da da da da da da**_

Castle let go of her, hesitatingly, and wiped his tears away. He looked at where his mother Martha and his daughter Alexis stood. They were also crying, both afraid for what was going to happen to him if Beckett died. They both looked at him, seeing the pain and fear in his eyes. They both nodded, silently telling him to go, and follow the ambulance.

_**If you're lost,**_

_**And you need to find some escape**_

He walked towards his car, not paying attention to anyone around him. He looked down at his clothes, which were covered in blood. Under normal circumstances, blood wouldn't even come _close_ to his car. But this wasn't just anyone's blood. This was _Beckett's_ blood. _Beckett's_. He didn't know if he would be able to say "I love you" to her again. He wouldn't know if she loved him back.

He was confused; he didn't know what to do. He realized that Beckett was the person that kept him grounded through the craziness of life, and was the light that prevented him from getting lost. He wanted to escape, but at the same time he didn't. He wanted, no, he _needed_ to hear that Beckett would survive, and that she would not die.

_**Or some peace of mind,**_

_**Call my name**_

_**When you need a friend**_

_**I'll be there, I'll be there**_

He needed someone to lean on, and that someone was Beckett. He had sometimes talked to her about some of his problems. Some, not all, because he couldn't find the courage to tell her about the way he felt. He had asked her for advice on Alexis. She had almost become a mother figure to her.

How can he ask her for advice on Alexis now? He didn't even know if he was going to see her ever again. Castle took in his surroundings, and suddenly realized that he was at the hospital; he didn't even notice the drive to get there. He thought about how selfish he had been from the time that she had been shot. All he had done was think about what was going to happen to him, and not to her. He ignored all of his problems for now and focused his thoughts on Beckett.

OOOO

_**If your dreams**_

_**Are drenched in sweat**_

_**You can't sleep**_

_**There's too much in your head**_

Reality didn't set in for Beckett until she was shot. Part of her was still hoping that Montgomery, her mentor, was not the third cop. She didn't want to believe that he was dead; she still hoped that it was all a bad dream. At the funeral, everything happened too fast. The last thing she remembered before she was shot was that she was looking at Castle, and that, suddenly, he ran. She was shot at that moment.

The pain was _excruciating._ She always thought that she would die a quick death in the line of duty, but she didn't realize that death could be so slow and painful. The wall of pain that hit her woke her up, and she realized that, yes, Montgomery was the third cop, and the war that involved her mother was not yet over.

_**Call my name**_

_**Any type of day,**_

_**I'll be there, I'll be there**_

"Please don't leave me. I love you, Kate," He said to her, words that she had been waiting to say to him, too. He said those words, before she was taken away from him. She had tried to tell him "Castle, I love you, too," but she couldn't find the energy in her body to do so. They had taken her away from him and loaded her into an ambulance. She tried to look around for Castle, but couldn't find him. Slowly, she felt herself slip away.

OOOO

Castle ran into the emergency room and approached the nearest nurse. He received a few skeptical looks from the hospital staff, since his clothes were covered in blood. However, all he cared about was Kate. His thoughts were focused on Kate. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Esposito and Ryan watching him. They approached him, and Ryan placed a hand on his shoulder, which Castle didn't attempt to shake off.

"They rushed her straight into the operating room after she arrived," Esposito said. "We were about to go there, but we wanted to wait for you." Esposito had barely finished the words when Castle ran towards the operating room. Ryan and Esposito looked at each other, worried about Castle and Beckett's relationship, which they were able to see grow as they spent time with the duo, and ran after him.

_**When you can't carry on,**_

_**When the road's way too long**_

_**Know that you're not alone**_

_**I can carry you home**_

Castle arrived at the operating room, too late, as there was no one to inform him of Beckett's situation. He paced back and forth, hoping for news, and barely noticed Ryan and Esposito's arrival.

_**If you hold on tonight**_

_**I'll be there**_

He wasn't much of a religious person, but he prayed for Beckett's safety. He had met Beckett's father prior to Montgomery's death and was able to see the pain that the man had experienced on losing his wife. Her father was terrified of losing the last member of his family – Kate, who had inherited her mother's good looks. She was the living replica of her mother and Kate's death would kill her father, as Castle was able to see in his eyes.

He prayed for Beckett's survival. He wanted her to keep holding on. She was strong, he knew that. But this, this was different. He didn't know if she was strong enough to hold on. Despite his doubts, he wanted her to wake up, and he wanted to be there when she did.

_**If you give,**_

_**Till you've got nothing left,**_

_**Wanted more,**_

_**But you end up with less,**_

Beckett had given everything to this case, Castle realized. She wanted her mother's killer put to justice, but she kept losing. She lost her mother, and those who had tried to help her with the case. The final loss, Montgomery, seemed to have taken the largest toll on her, since he was her mentor and was almost like a parent to her.

_**All your friends,**_

_**Have turned away**_

_**But I'll be there, I'll be there**_

Some people, like Esposito and Ryan, thought it best to leave Castle and Beckett alone when they worked together on her mother's case, despite their strong relationship with each other. At first, it bothered Beckett, but she soon left it alone, as she wanted to focus all her energy on finding her mother's killer.

Castle thought about all the times that he had stayed by Beckett's side. Were those times not enough to show his feelings for her? Or did she see them, but did not want to reciprocate them? _Stop it, Rick_, he thought, you can't think like that. He paced back and forth, waiting for news on Beckett.

_**When you can't carry on,**_

_**When the road's way too long**_

_**Know that you're not alone**_

_**I can carry you home**_

_**If you hold on tonight**_

_**If you hold on tonight**_

He wanted someone to be there for him; to support him, in times of need. However, it was only Beckett that could do that for him. And he wanted to be the person to do that for her. But he couldn't do that, if she didn't hold on. _Beckett please,_ he thought desperately,_ please don't leave me. I need you. I need you to support me the way I want to support you. I need you to love me as much as I love you._

_**The weight of the world is too much to take**_

_**Pulling you down like a tidal wave**_

_**I can hold you, I will hold you**_

_**Here and now**_

His mother and Alexis had just arrived at the operating room. Both gave Castle a hug, and saw the pain and fear in his eyes.

"Have you heard back from anyone?" His mother asked, holding his hand. He shook his head, the tears starting to fall again.

"We wanted to stop by and tell you that we're going to wait for news at home," Alexis said, taking his other hand. "Dad, if you need anything, call us, please. We love and care about her as much as you do." Alexis and Martha gave him one last hug before leaving. He watched them leave and was temporarily distracted from Beckett's condition.

_**If you're lost and you need to find some escape,**_

_**Or some peace in mind, yeah**_

He wasn't distracted for long, since the doctors came out of the operating room, wheeling Beckett with them. They didn't stop to talk to Castle, Ryan or Esposito, so the trio was left to run after the doctors.

"Is she going to be okay?" Castle asked, after he had caught up with the doctors. Esposito and Ryan arrived, just before the doctor answered Castle's question, as Castle had run ahead of them.

_Please pull through, Beckett,_ Castle thought as he waited for the doctor to answer. From the expressions on Esposito's and Ryan's faces, he knew that they were thinking the exact same thing.

"She pulled through," the doctor said, much to the relief of the trio. "She's going to be okay. From what we noticed during the surgery, she isn't going to suffer much damage, nor will her recovery period be long."

_**When you can't carry on,**_

_**When the road's way too long**_

_**Know that you're not alone**_

_**I can carry you home**_

_**If you hold on tonight**_

Relief flooded Castle. He had never been so happy to speak to a doctor in his life, nor was he so happy to be in a hospital. He always hated to be in hospitals, but at this moment, none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that Beckett was going to survive. He would be able to say to her that he loved her, every day. But did she love him back? There was only one way to find out.

OOOO

_**When you can't carry on**_

_**When the road's way too long**_

_**Know that you're not alone,**_

_**I can carry you home**_

_**If you hold on tonight,**_

_**I'll be there**_

Beckett had just woken up in a hospital room. She could barely remember what happened in the last few hours. With a few tries, she did. She remembered that she had been shot, and she remembered the excruciating pain that she was in. She also remembered what Castle said. She remembered how she wanted to say "I love you, too" to him, but couldn't.

Beckett wondered about where Castle was. She wanted him to know how much she loved him, and admired him for being so annoyingly optimistic all the damn time. She wanted to have his optimism. She needed him to be there for her, at all times, and she wanted to be there for him. She wanted to be there when he cried, smiled, and everything in between. She just wanted to tell him "I love you, Rick," and really mean it. But that would have to wait. At least, until he arrived at her hospital room.

OOOO

_**When the world seems wrong**_

_**When you've come undone**_

He asked the nurse at the reception desk of the ICU about Kate's room, and made small talk with her, since she was a fan of his writing. He signed a book for her, but he wasn't concentrating on what he was saying to her; he just wanted to get to Kate's room.

_**No, you're not alone**_

_**I'll be there for you**_

As soon as he was able to leave the nurse, without seeming too rude, he rushed to the directions that she had told him. He looked around for Esposito and Ryan and realized that they weren't with him. He didn't think much about their disappearance, and continued to look for Kate.

OOOO

_**When the world seems wrong**_

_**When you've come undone**_

_**No, you're not alone**_

She waited for what seemed like an eternity. She knew that it was only a few minutes, but she couldn't help but be impatient. She felt like she had been waiting for Castle for what could have possibly been her entire life. He was right in one way; she dated guys that she didn't love because she didn't want to be happy. However, he didn't know that she dated those guys because she wanted him to be happy. If he didn't want to be with her, then she would have let him be with the person he loved.

But he did want to be with her; otherwise, he wouldn't have told her that he loved her. She was going to confess her love for him, and they would be together, no matter what. They would support each other through thick and thin, and they would be able to be relieved of each other's problems.

Suddenly, she was interrupted from her thoughts, as someone had came in her room. She looked up, and there he was, standing there, relief flooding his features.

OOOO

_**You know I'll be there**_

_She was fine. She was going to be alright._ These thoughts were running through Castle's head as he saw Beckett awake. He was always happy to see her at the police station every day, but this was the happiest he had ever felt seeing her. He walked to her bed and looked into her green eyes. He grabbed her hand and said the words that he said after she had been shot.

"I love you, Kate."

OOOO

_He said the words again_, these words kept going through her mind. _Kate, you can do this,_ she thought. She needed to say these words to him, _now_.

"I love you, too, Rick"

_**Da da da da da da da, da da da da da da da**_

Kate then kissed Rick, and a smile escaped from both of their lips.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you so much for reading my story! Reviews aren't necessary, but some would be nice :)<em>


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